


Ripple in Fate

by XIII4



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Titan Shifters, Ymir is old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29465235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XIII4/pseuds/XIII4
Summary: The flap of wings from a small butterfly can create tornados.The smallest of pebbles can create the biggest of the ripples.or, What could the presence of one single person change in the world?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Ripple in Fate

* * *

**Ripple in Fate**

* * *

The deafening silence of the so-called devils was music to anyone who wasn’t born Eldian. Finally having the power over the warmongering _beings_ felt so nice for many people, and even the children, who didn’t know what had happened and the horrors of being under their foot, shared their parents and grandparent’s happiness and joy.

And as such, non-Eldians didn’t like going inside of the internment zone unless necessary. However, that cold night there was a man who was walking through the internment zone. A dark-haired man wearing formal clothes, eyes narrowed as he inspected his surroundings, looking for something. As the light from the burning flame lightened the dark path among the internment zone, the cold wind still managed to get under his clothes, making him shiver.

Looking up toward the night sky, he sighed in relief, glad that he could see such a view without having to fear someone stomping on him. He heard the stories from his grandparents, about how the Eldians would do as they please and kill anyone that didn’t obey them. It made him going into this place much harder, but he had to make sure that there was no way for them to get out of that place because if they did so, it might create more death and destruction.

While thinking about that, something caught his attention. 

A small shivering figure leaned against the bricked wall of one of the houses by the darkest alley of the internment zone, where the light of the lamp post doesn’t reach. His mind raced with thoughts, and he walked near to confirm what was shivering against the wall. He expected the find some animal who found some clothing from a dead Eldian whose body nobody had bothered cleaning, as it happened the week before, but the sight was one he had never dreamt of.

“What the. . .” His voice trailed off, and he rubbed his eyes with his forearm as he squinted, trying to get a better picture. He moved his candle lamp closer, and the light revealed a better image. “A. . . kid?”

A kid was shivering against the wall, clothing ragged and breath heaving. Brown disheveled hair, tanned skin with freckles over her cheeks. Eyes half-closed, and looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and wonder. The kid was looking at the man, wondering who he was.

The man, who had snapped out of his dazed stare, considered simply leaving the kid there. An Eldian orphan was not his business, he would even call it karma for all the people the Eldians had left orphans, too, from both Marley and the rest of the world. Even so, staring at the kid, who had done nothing to him aside from being Eldian, was leaving him with mixed feelings. And through his limited knowledge about human biology, he knew the child was a female.

_“They are the devil, William. They have taken everything from us, you shouldn’t care about them, we finally are free from their rule. Remember, they are the descendants of the Devil. The Tybur family is the only one we shall respect, for helping us stop King Fritz and his rule.”_

He remembered the words spoken by her father when he was still alive, before dying of a heart attack, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to forget them, as they were seared into his mind from a very young age. Regardless of that, something inside of him compelled him to do something.

He had to witness this child being a devil.

The man straightened up his back, cracking his neck. The sound made the child jump, and look at him with curiosity shinning over the gray eyes that were staring at him. He kneeled over, yanking off the make-shift blanket the Eldian child had. To his surprise, the child simply accepted this, and coiled over, hands wrapping around her knees as cold washed over her body, a shiver running rampant through the skin without mercy.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, voice low and cold.

The child tilted her head, wondering what the man was talking about. The confusion was all over her face, as the man leaned closer.

“What are you doing here, you devil?” He repeated his question, this time more clearly. “Shouldn’t you be with whoever in hell birthed you?”

The man didn’t know why he was being so aggressive to someone so defenseless, but he thought that it was simply him being human. The kin of the people who have damaged humanity was in front of him, without the possibility to fight back and him having more power. It felt good, being above those who hurt you before, though he wasn’t hurt directly, only his family suffered through the Great Titan war before he was even born.

He still remembered his mother crying about his uncle dying to the then Jaw Titan.

“I. . .” The child spoke, voice hoarse and dry, and it looked that it hurt to even speak. “Don’t. . . Have. . .” She tried to speak the few words she knew the meaning of, having heard them from the rest of the people who wandered through the streets of Liberio.

The man blinked at the response. _They are even cruel among their own, eh?_ His mind quickly went through images of the orphaned children that had grown up to become great men after the Great Titan War had ended. All of them were given a second chance at life after the hell they suffered, but now he was currently talking to the kin of those who caused harm to his people.

And she couldn’t look more harmless than a rat.

He took in more features about the child before him. 

She was skinny, him being able to see her collarbone and all. Due to her heaved breathes, he assumed that she had been on the streets for at least a couple of years, being old enough to move around and not being taken by one of those orphanages he’d heard about. The ragged clothes she was wearing also looked very worn out, and the stench of blood and death were picked up by him. 

He had heard the stories about those orphaned Marleyan children, about how they had to survive in deplorable conditions, and right now he was seeing what those conditions truly could have been, by someone from Eldia.

_“They are sinners that have to be punished, the king fled with many of them but not all, and left some of them here. They have to suffer, atone for their sins, and the rest of the world agrees.”_

Words from his grandmother came to mind.

Atonement.

This was all about that. 

Being punished for things one has done to another party and trying to make up for them. Eldians had done terrible things to mankind over two millennia, all because of the luxury it brought them. William was now someone above Eldians, but what he was seeing right now wasn’t something to be proud of. Someone born after the war, not even knowing its meaning, abandon just because they were born, and left to be punished by a king who didn’t care for them at all. It was cruel, and the emotions clashing inside of his mind were obvious.

She hasn’t done anything to him, why should a child be suffering like this?

William shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his head. It didn’t happen, as they continued to swarm around like a tornado. His eyes landed back on the shivering girl and wrapped the blanket around her body.

Warmth suddenly filled her body, slowly, and the girl looked at the man surprised. A grateful smile, full of innocence that it hurt the man, crossed her face. He slowly got up from the ground, and as he was about to leave, turning his back to the child and leaving her alone, to never meet her again a thought quickly crossed his mind.

His best friend, Wallace Tybur, the current holder of the Warhammer Titan as of a few months. He was Eldian born, but his family fought against King Fritz, as the family knew about all the damage the King and his ancestry had caused to the world. If some Eldians wanted, too, the best for the world, as he has heard about some people who worshipped The Devil calling her a Goddess for helping mankind prosper, then couldn’t more of them never wanted bloodshed to be spilled, but couldn’t do anything because they didn’t have the power?

Shaking his head, he glanced back at the kid, who had already fallen asleep on the dirty ground.

 _Maybe. . . just maybe. . ._ William thought, thinking about his friend then back at the child. _Not all of them deserve to be punished._

He turned around and walked toward the child.

**~X~**

Two months have passed ever since William found that orphan child on the streets of Liberio, and his life couldn’t have changed more. It was neither positive nor negative, but more neutral, as though that decision wouldn’t bring anything good nor bad. It was strange, but William didn’t have anything bad to say about the girl, who decided to call herself Ymir.

The girl was currently laying on her back on the ground of his backyard, staring at the sky with a face full of wonder and amazement. It was a view he had grown accustomed to seeing around. Every now and then he was truly grateful for the decision he made back then. As much trouble it could bring him for having somewhat adopted an Eldian child, at the end of the day, as long as he managed to get her under control and not harm the nation, it would be all fine.

He heard a knock coming from his door, and William’s eyes furrowed. He stood up and saw how Ymir turned her head around to look at him.

“I’ll come in a minute, Ymir.” He said, a smile quickly adorning his face. Ymir nodded her head and resumed watching the clouds, trying to remember the names of certain figures she saw on a book.

William quickly made his way toward the door and opened it. His friend Wallace was there on the other side of the door, along with William’s mother. 

His brows furrowed in confusion. “Wallace? Mom? What are you doing here?”

“Will, you know you have been hiding something from us, and I told your mother about it,” Wallace said, his blonde hair shining with the light of the sun. William’s mother nodded at Wallace’s words.

William stiffened slightly, muscles tense. “I haven’t been hiding anything.” He was a terrible liar, and so he could only hide the truth with another truth. Even so, it seems luck isn’t on his side today.

“Don’t lie to me, Will.” William’s mother admonished, and he felt embarrassed but quickly hid the emotion as he rubbed the back of his head. “Please, tell us what’s happening with you, if you are in trouble we can help.” She said with a smile.

The black-haired man relaxed his muscles, knowing that his mother was telling the truth in that regard. He knew he could trust them with knowing about Ymir, but he wasn’t so sure that if a single slip-up occurs everything would stay the same. He feared what might happen to his family, with the memory of the war so clear in their minds, and what might happen to Ymir, who had done nothing except being born into this world.

William sighed, and motioned them to come inside. “Wait for a second,” He closed the door and moved toward the backyard both his friend and mom following close behind him. Once they arrived at the backyard, they found Ymir turning around to look at them. Her expression lit up when she saw William, but curiosity soon followed after once she saw the two strangers she had never met before behind him, but the blonde man seemed familiar to her and wondered where she had seen him before.

William’s mother and Wallace were surprised by the presence of the little girl in the backyard of William, and the elderly lady quickly followed up by giving side glances to her son, watching to see if there was any resemblance between the girl and him. Meanwhile, Wallace was having a bit of an internal struggle, already knowing what this could be. If his best friend didn’t tell him about this girl, it meant she was an Eldian. Now, the reason why he has her there is a mystery he wants to find out.

“Will, who is this?” Wallace inquired, raising an eyebrow.

William swallowed his saliva and braced himself. He motioned the girl to come near him and she did. “This is Ymir, an Eldian orphan I found in Liberio.” He didn’t need to look at them to know what they should be feeling the moment he said those words, for he knew that his mother at the moment should be having hatred rooting out from her heart.

He was right. His mother was looking at the girl with deep-hidden hatred beneath her eyes, looking at the girl who shared the same name as The Devil. Part of her wanted to scream at the girl and demand her blood be spilled for everything that she had caused, but the reasonable part of her was arguing that her son must have a reason for having her there and if he didn’t, she would beat some sense into him. 

At the same time, Wallace puts a hand over his mouth, his mind racing with thoughts. _Was this a sign?_ About two or three Founder holders must have passed since King Fritz went away to Paradis Island, and now an Eldian girl named Ymir is here. The Tybur believed this must mean something, something like this couldn’t just have been a coincidence, and even if it was, why would his friend grab an orphan with the same name as _her_?

“Who are they?” Ymir asked, looking at William.

He crouched and pointed at his mother. “My mom, Clara.” then pointed at his friend. “Wallace Tybur, my best friend.”

“Oh,” The freckled girl voiced out, and she looked directly into Clara’s eyes. “She hates me.” She bluntly stated, not bothered at all.

The eyes of Clara widened at the statement, as well as Wallace’s. William gently slapped his forehead, having forgotten that Ymir didn’t have a subtle switch, always speaking bluntly.

“I assure you, dear, I don’t hate you,” Clara said, a smile on her face. 

Ymir shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “You do, you have the same looks as everyone else outside of where Willy found me.” She looked down at the ground, hoping it would swallow her.

 _Willy. . . How cute._ Wallace wanted to laugh, but the situation was not exactly the best for that. William noticed his face and grinned slightly.

“Ymir, talk to Wallace while I talk to my mom.”

Wallace looked taken aback by the suggestion, but the looks from both William and Clara made him obliged with the request to talk. It would also be a good opportunity to get to know about this. . . Ymir. If everything went well, the plan his family had been concocting might go faster than expected. He walked over to another part of the backyard, Ymir right behind him, leaving William and his mother to talk with a little more privacy.

“Sorry about her,” William started, and gave a short, small laugh. “I still haven’t taught her to not speak her mind so bluntly.”

Clara looked at him, and the look she gave him was enough to make him sigh. William looked at his friend talking to Ymir, who had opened up a little to him as she looked intrigued by something Wallace was saying.

“I found her in an alleyway of Liberio looking like she was about to die,” William explained.

“But why would you bring her with you. Will, she has the same blood as the Devil, she even shares her name!” Clara exclaimed in low voice, getting worked up.

William sighed, rubbing his arm. “She had no name when I found her, mom, she liked it and would simply respond when called that name.” He admitted.

Clara didn’t say anything, grabbing her left hand with her right one, watching her son struggle with something inside of him. She gave a side-glance toward Wallace and Ymir, watching the little girl giving a face full of innocence and devoid of malice, she wanted to gag at the sight.

“Mom,” William called out softly, getting her attention. “I know you have problems with Eldians, and hate Ymir Fritz to no avail, but I beg of you, Ymir is not that Devil who harmed us, I implore you to keep that in mind.”

Clara took a deep breath and took a good look at her son, who was now clapping his hands together, begging her, something he hadn’t done ever since he became very busy with his life after he left home.

"Fine. . ." She sighed, looking back at Ymir. "I'll give her a chance, the first time she does something devil-like, she is out."

"Thanks, mom." William smiled, glad that he managed to convinced his mother, and thought about how hard he would have to try to make her realize that Ymir is not evil like her namesake.

He wondered how much of his life will change because of this conversation.

He never knew he changed more than his own life.

**~X~**

_The faint voice of Wallace reached her as she closed her eyes._ _Ymir felt the thunderous clap striking her body and wondered what had caused this to happen to her._

**Author's Note:**

> This is an open concept, one where Ymir is found by someone else, and everything changes for the world of Attack on Titan. If anyone wants to use this idea, you are free to do so.
> 
> Keep in mind, that she still needs to be less than seventeen years old for when the Warriors are given their titans.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Second Coming](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29520438) by [XIII4](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XIII4/pseuds/XIII4)




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